A Watch

A watch has numbers
For you to tell time
It's the only way to keep you in line
So don't get distracted or forget where to be
You know you have a friend that tells time you see
A watch is like a friend you want to keep close by your side
It will let you know you came to work on time
A watch has numbers
For you to tell time
It's the only way to keep you in line
So don't miss place it ever again
Because you might lose your very best friend

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Editor’s Note

The number one question our editors receive is—what do the editors and judges look for when judging the contest? The number one answer we give is creativity. Unlike prose, writing composed in everyday language, poetry is considered a creative art and requires a different type of effort and a certain level of depth. Of the thousands of poems entered in each contest, the ones that catch our judges’ eyes are the ones that remove us, even just slightly, from the scope of everyday life by using language that is interesting, specific, vivid, obscure, compelling, figurative, and so on. Oftentimes, poems are pulled aside for a second look based simply on certain words that intrigued the reader. So first and foremost, be sure your poetry is written using creative language. Take general ideas and make them personal. In his infamous book De/Compositions: 101 Good Poems Gone Wrong, W. D. Snodgrass imparts, “We cannot honestly discuss or represent our lives, any more than our poems, without using ideational language.”